Chapter 13: Jack; Shauran 20th, 344SR; 08:55
"I was right, I was always right all along! I am chosen by the Celestial!" Alexander shouted frantically.
'Move! Move!' Jack shivered, it felt like the world slowed down. His lungs shuddered. His legs shook. The noble he feared the most towered over him. Alexander raised his foot, preparing to stomp down on Jack's head. 'It's over... I'm going to-' Alexander pressed his foot down. Jack cowered, shielding himself with his arms. A thud against metal was all he heard, his shoulders tensed up at the sound, but he didn't feel anything. Jack slowly opened his eyes, only to see Ajal between him and Alexander. His hand outstretched, palm wide open and pointed toward the nobles chest. Alexander's eyes widened slowly as he tipped backward, losing his balance.
"So this guy is Alexander Rael," Ajal said with his usual relaxed tone.
Relief flooded over Jack as Ajal clenched his right fist. His vivid spirit flowed over it. He swung forward and planted his fist into Alexander's face, a crack rippled through the air. His spirit flashed three times in rapid succession, sparking against the nobles face. It looked like the sparks that flew off the tip of a pickaxe as it struck rock. Jack gasped as a strong force pushed him into the wood he leaned against. Ajal pushed his fist further into his face, swinging his arm, and launching him across the street. The eight-foot man flew off his feet like he weighed nothing at all, crashing head-first into a house, smashing right through and disappearing behind the debris. Jack blinked repeatedly in disbelief.
"Holy shit-" Jack grabbed his chest, his heart beating rapidly as he caught his breath.
"Oh, damn! I felt that from here?!" John laughed. "You got him!"
Ajal shook his hand and loosened his fist. Jack squinted at the hole, he briefly recalled how Ajal shattered the boulder with his fist earlier. 'It... It was that easy?' Jack glanced to the right, his eyes widened as he saw Eos out cold. The white haired angel laid face first in the dirt.
"Did you have to mess him up that badly?" Jack asked, squinting at the sight of his friend on the ground.
"Yeah," Ajal laughed as he offer his hand to Jack. "He wouldn't stay down... And if I didn't you'd probably be dead right now..."
Jack looked back to the hole, remembering the sight of Alexander's monstrous figure in the flames. He gulped as he stared inside the hole the noble crashed through. Part of him wanted to check to be sure Alexander was dead, but just thinking about going near the hole in the house made him nervous.
"He is dead... Right?" Jack asked, his gaze locked on the house.
"I heard his nose crack! And that punch, I felt that from here?! Was that spirit arts too?!" John ran over while looking at the hole.
"Is- Is he dead?"
"Jack did you feel that?! You were right next to it?!"
"Stop repeating yourselves... The others are in the center of the town, we should-" Ajal's head rose, he turned back to the hole.
Ajal's sudden shift in demeanor made Jack grimace. 'No...'
"I thought you weren't trying to kill people? Not that I'm complaining though!" John babbled.
"Jack, John, take those kids and run... Get as far as you can!" Ajal ordered sternly.
"Huh? Why? You just wasted Alexander Rael..."
Jack's relief spilled out of him as fast as he had received it. 'Don't tell me...'
"That guy's strong so I didn't hold back... But he isn't down- Go... Now!" Ajal yelled as Alexander charged out of the hole.
'What?!' Alexander tackled Ajal, the two of them just inches away from Jack. Ajal shoved him back, spun around and jumped with his leg raised high, bringing it around in less than a second. Alexander raised his arm to block. The noble's armor shattered as Ajal's leg slammed into it, his spirit spiking at the place of impact like it did before. The impact released a wave of force, causing Jack to stumble backward and fall. Alexander flew off his feet, crashing into the roof of a house, and descending into the crop fields in the southern part of Logos.
"Wow-" Jack uttered.
Ajal stepped forward and kicked off the ground, soaring straight to the roof Alexander smashed into. A purple light emitted from his head, Jack stood up as Ajal fired a blast from his third eye. The beam collided with something, a loud oscillating hum rang through the air. The blast ricocheted in multiple different directions, a bright purple light shining from beyond the houses. Ajal stopped firing, then jumped down into the crop fields out of sight. 'Can he do it... Can he kill him?!' Jack started towards where they fought but John stopped him.
"We should probably get out of here, Ajal can handle him... We'd just get in the way. Those kids aren't safe considering what just happened to that house," John told him.
'I have to see him die with my own eyes.. It's the only way I can be sure...'
"Jack come on-"
A giant pillar of green flame erupted from the crop fields where Ajal and Alexander fought. John took a step back, however, Jack wasn't phased. The pillar dissipated, and some of the green embers had spread to the wooden houses.
"I have to see him die!" Jack demanded.
"Huh?! Those kids are more important! We can't just leave them there!" John reasoned.
Jack looked at the wagon sitting in the middle of the street, then turned his head at the pillar of black smoke behind the building. Green flames crackled and flickered off a few houses. He pulled his arm away from John and stepped forward. Jack huffed in and out, he looked down at the wagon and grimaced.
"I have to know... Or-"
"Jack, those kids are in danger here! They can't stay here!" John shouted. "Ajal can handle him on his own!"
Jack paused as he looked down. 'But Ajal said he wouldn't kill anyone...' A massive crash came from the other side of the houses, Jack and John turned to see dirt and plants soar into the air, then descend back down. Alexander Rael suddenly crashed through a house. The noble tried to stop himself, but he crashed into another house on the other side of the road. Ajal dashed by with two scythes in hand just a second later.
"See? We don't know how many nobles are here, we should go and help Reinhardt and the others!" John recommended. "They should all be in the center of town..."
"Run!", "This way!", "Get somewhere safe!" multiple voices shouted from down the road.
A crowd of slaves ran out of the town in terror. A blood-curdling cry echoed from the center of the town. 'Did he do it?!' Jack hurried through the alley between houses and crouched down. He looked around the field, until he saw Alexander around the eastern part of the field. The noble was on his knees a short distance away from his greatsword impaled deep into the ground. Both of his hands were gone, and his expression was made up of shock and disbelief. Jack and John were speechless. Ajal walked past Alexander, not even looking down as he raised his staff and slammed it into his head.
"Oh my," John skipped a breath. "He defeated him, he really did it this time!"
Ajal looked around the field, he spotted Sarah in combat with a woman from the royal guard of Dorad. Without hesitation, Ajal sprinted down the field to help Sarah. Jack looked at Alexander's corpse. 'His arms are gone... He'll bleed out... Then... It's over... He should die soon...' Jack felt relieved, but a strange sense of dissatisfaction. 'There's no way he'll survive... But... Why do I feel like this...'
"There's Reinhardt! And... It's Ben and Adam!" John pointed to two black-haired people on their knees.
"I know Ben... Who's Adam?" Jack asked.
Jack squinted to see the two better. He didn't recognize the short-haired one, but the one with long hair was familiar enough. They both had a similar skin tone and facial features. The angels across the field moved toward where Ajal fought.
"That's Ben's older brother, Adam, he's the same rank as Reinhardt in the resistance," John explained.
"They're the same rank? Who's the leader then?" Jack asked as he watched the angels on the field.
"Well... On the non-unified side, Reinhardt and Adam are kind of the highest-ranked members remaining... Our leader is... Was... He died," John admitted as he looked down.
"Oh..."
The Hirian that Ajal fought wore strange clothing that Jack didn't recognize. Their robes all looked the same, but each was a different color, one blue, one brown, and one grey. However, a sudden grunt caught his ear. Jack looked back at Alexander and noticed him writhing on the ground, his wounds seemed to glow green. 'What...' The noble curled up into a ball, gritting his teeth, and slamming his head into the ground repeatedly.
"Aaah!" Alexander let out a quiet grunt on the ground.
He felt his heart sink as he watched something grow out of the wound. Jack's stomach started to turn when he saw a pale bone stretch forward out of the severed arm. 'This can't be possible... His gift also lets him heal?!' Jack watched in complete disbelief. Arthur ran to Alexander's aid, but he looked just as shocked as he witnessed the nobles arm regrow.
"It's happening again... He just doesn't know how to die..." Jack grumbled.
"What is that guy made of..." John shook his head. "It should be okay... Ajal can just take him down as many times as he needs to..."
'Ajal didn't make sure he was dead... He's going to keep getting-' A thunderous crash from one of the other houses crackled through the sky, interrupting Jack's train of thought. Green lightning seemed to move as if it had a mind of its own toward Ajal.
"On second thought... I think we'll die if we get any closer than we already are..." said John.
Jack watched the hybrids with blue and brown robes fight Ajal at the same time, the fight was hard to keep track of from so far away. The other Hirian with a grey robe watched the fight from a distance as he stood over a defeated George. George tried to stand back up but the tiny hybrid effortlessly held down the large man with one foot.
"Oh no, George!" John stood up.
"Huh? Wait I thought you weren't going!" Jack stressed.
"If he doesn't get his foot off George, I'll, I'll-!"
Jack looked at John's hand, even though it shook, his tone was brimming with rage.
"I know how you feel! But those kids... I should have listened earlier! Get them as far away from Logos as you can," Jack ordered.
"What about George!" John asked impatiently.
"You'll get killed if you even go near that guy!" Jack shook John by the collar. "He hasn't killed George yet... Just trust Ajal, he wouldn't let anyone die!"
John was caught off guard by Jack's intense expression, he glanced at the field. The man in the grey robe left George behind to enter battle with Ajal as well. John took a deep breath. George slowly stood up, he didn't seem too injured. He made his way toward Ben and Adam who were closer to the south entrance of Logos.
"Where do we take those kids anyway?" John asked.
"South... Ajal and those Hirian's are fighting in the north west part of the field, Alexander and Arthur are at the east part... It's the closest and safest way out..." Jack advised.
The bone in Alexander's forearm started to split into the shape of a hand. At the base of the wound, the flesh started to crawl up, veins reformed, and his skin started to spread over it. Jack listened to his cries of pain, he rolled over onto his back. Arthur tried to help him, but Alexander just cursed at his effort.
"We need to get those kids away... Those two are gonna start fighting again..." Jack shook his head.
Jack and John could see the farms through the broken houses, green flames rose from the burning crop fields. Several pillars of grey smoke reached into the sky above Logos and moved south. The thunderous impacts of Ajal's battle forced the clouds away.
"Let's go! There's nothing we can do here!" said Jack.
"Right!" John agreed as he followed.
Jack and John made their way back to the wagon. But as he remembered what happened to Carol, it made him anxious. 'Even though I said that... I can't let that go... ' To John's surprise, Jack ran past his house.
"Wait! Where are you going!?" John asked.
"Get the kids out of here, there's something I have to do!" Jack yelled back.
"Huh?!" John grasped his head as he grimaced nervously.
'Even though I just said all that... I'm sorry John... But I can't forgive him...' Jack ran out of the alley in a rush and straight past Eos's unconscious body. He rushed towards the rubble of what was once Carol's house. He stepped forward onto the broken wood, carefully walking over it, measuring the sound of each creak to find good footing. 'This is crazy...' Sweat ran down his head, his foot started to shake and the rubble below gave out. 'Ah!'
Jack's heart skipped a beat as he felt the platform drop, falling onto his back as the rubble slid down the dirt. Jack winced as he pushed himself off the ground and got to his feet. He walked over to the center of what was once Carol's basement. He moved the debris out of the way, revealing a single glass device, with a pile of logorite right next to it, and a tank loaded with the catalyst. Jack opened the tank, and began to fill it with handfuls of the logorite. 'Ajal won't kill... I don't think I could do it... But... I can hurt him... I can hurt him and I can buy Ajal some time! If I could just hit him with the bomb before he gets back up...' Jack twisted the tank onto the device, and then looked at it silently. He gulped, knowing full well that what he was doing was pointless. However, he didn't care, more than anything else, he just wanted to hurt Alexander himself.
"Damnit Jack, where did you go!" John rambled to himself outside. "He went this way... He must have already made it out of the town..."
The wood of the wagon rocked as John pulled it to the south entrance. 'Alright...' Jack squatted down and lifted the glass device onto his shoulder. He reached up and pushed the device outside of the hole. He reached up, and then pulled himself out as well. Jack lifted the device with both hands, and made his way back to the street. Eos was still unconscious on the road. A black bolt of lightning fell from the sky and crashed into the town, brown smoke billowed out quickly. The rumble made Jack stumble. 'Just leave him...'
Jack walked past Eos, but he felt a storm of guilt stab at his chest. 'Angels are all awful... They'll stop at nothing to exploit all the non-unified...' Jack stopped and clenched his teeth, a sense of dread fell over him. 'Eos isn't like that...' Jack took a deep breath, setting the device down.
"Dammit..." Jack turned.
Jack crouched down and lifted Eos. He pulled one of his arms over his shoulder and then stood up, slowly carrying his friend to safety. He listened to the young angel's breaths as he carried him down the path, his feet dragging through the dirt. Each step was grueling, Jack breathed steadily as he walked slowly. 'Someone like you gave Ajal a hard time. You said you wanted to become strong... You already are strong you idiot...'
Jack brought him to the south entrance of Logos, they were a short distance away from the town. Jack set him down against the wooden fence on the path. 'Why do things have to be like this...' Jack huffed as he looked down at Eos, his hair was a mess, and he had several bruises on his head. Jack laughed to himself. 'If we never met... This would be a lot easier...'
Jack turned and ran back down the road. He picked up the device and made his way over to the house he hid behind earlier. Jack walked through the alley once more and observed the battle again. Ajal dodged multiple strikes while on the defensive from Alexander Rael. 'Wait- He's already back up!? Don't think about that right now...Focus...' Jack shook his head, breathing heavily.
"Come on... Come on... Come on..." Jack repeated to himself.
Jack felt sweat drip down his head as he held the device in one hand with his other hand over the knob to activate it. 'Once I turn the knob there's no going back... I have to throw this thing... My timing has to be-' The ground suddenly rumbled as a green pillar of flame erupt from where Ajal and Alexander fought. Fireballs stretched off the peak of the flame, raining down from the sky slowly. Jack was breathless, there was a sinking feeling in his stomach.
"Carol... We never stood a chance..." Jack shook his head.
The fireballs crashed into the ground, bursting like bubbles and spreading green flame onto grass or houses. Some of them hit the houses, causing Jack to shudder. As he looked back up, he noticed a stray fireball fall toward him. 'Oh... Shit, shit, shit!' Jack panicked and dived out of the alleyway as the fireball smashed into the two houses. He held the device close to his chest as he rolled onto the street. The wooden debris flew over him. He held the device up and looked for any damage. There was none.
"What the hell! I can't do this, I can't do this!" Jack whispered in fear.
Jack felt intense heat from the burning house he had just gotten away from, the roof fell into itself. The embers spread to other houses as the green fire only grew. Jack sat upright and shielded his face from the heat as he stumbled to his feet.
Even Jack's house had been hit by one of the fireballs. Wherever he looked he could see green flames. 'Logos is on fire...' Jack watched in awe. Someone shouted from the other side of the burning houses, but he couldn't hear what they said.
"They're fighting closer to the west still, the fire may have not reached the east yet!" Jack huffed.
Jack ran past several houses, until spotting one which was a good distance from any other fire. The flames were just two houses down. The door was left wide open. 'Whoever ran out of here was probably too scared to close the door behind them...' Jack walked into the house and noticed it was like his own, with nothing in it other than what he needed to get by. However, there was an assortment of gold items on the wooden square table. A golden ring with a yellow crystal embedded in it. Three golden coins no bigger than a fingernail branded with the insignia of a feather. And a golden pendant that sparkled even in the dark. 'What... What is this stuff? Whose house is this?' Jack gulped as he looked at the gold trinkets. 'No use letting it all burn...' Jack shoveled the trinkets and coins into his pocket.
"Damn weakling!" Alexander Rael shouted in the distance.
Jack looked at the window, then hurried to the left side of it and peeked out. Alexander Rael and Ajal zipped around the battlefield at insane speeds. 'Why isn't Ajal attacking?!' Jack squinted as he breathed heavily. They started to move around the edge of the town, very close to the house Jack was currently in. He turned the knob on the device's tank. The catalyst seeped through onto the logorite which immediately began to rapidly release green light and steam. However, Jack suddenly heard a thud hit the wall he was behind. Dust fell off the window sill.
"Huh..." Jack uttered.
Jack peeked out of the window and noticed Ajal. 'Wasn't he over there just-' Ajal suddenly dodged to the left as Alexander relentlessly tried to stab him with his greatsword. The blade pierced through the house, Jack blinked in shock as he looked at its vibrant green hue. 'Huh-' Alexander dragged the blade through the wall toward Jack. 'Woah!'
Jack dived to the ground, getting as low as he could with the device held tightly to his chest. The blade passed over him, gliding through the wall like it wasn't even there. Wooden chips and debris poked and cut into Jack's skin. He lay on the ground curled into a ball, listening to his own uneven breaths. 'Ah! I'm okay... I'm okay... I'm...' Jack heard a creak, he looked up and his eyes widened. The top of the wall leaned toward him. 'Oh... Shit-' Jack gritted his teeth and shielded the device under him, the wall crashed down on his back.
"Ah!" Jack cried.
A blunt impact made him wince as he shut his eyes, part of his head took a hit, and his vision blurred for a moment. He looked at the device to make sure it wasn't damaged. 'Ow...' Jack's whole body ached. He shut his eyes as he felt his knees squeeze into his stomach. A green light grew in intensity, Jack looked down and his thoughts went into a frenzy. 'Oh no... no, no... Not like this!' He looked down in terror at the device glowing brighter by the second in his arms.
'I only have a minute before this thing blows!'
Jack let go of the device and pushed his hands against the floor, the wooden planks budged slightly but his arms gave up before him. His entire body ached as he tried to free himself but couldn't. Sweat dripped down his face. He breathed heavily. He could only use one arm to push against the wooden wall as he'd been pinned on his side. 'What do I do?! What do I do?! I'm gonna die! Why did I try to come back?! There's nothing I could have done anyway! I can't stand it! I can't stand being so weak and powerless that I can't even do the things that I want to do!' Jack breathed in and out frantically as he whimpered in fear. However, he remembered Ajal's advice.
'You can only control your spirit when you're calm.'
Jack gulped, he focused purely on breathing in and out. 'It's just like John said, there's no point in being scared... Focus... Lift this damn wall! Do it or die!' Jack focused part of his spirit into his arms and pushed against the fallen wall.
It just barely moved forward, but that motivated Jack to put even more strength into it. 'I need to focus harder- No... My intent... I want to hurt- No, I want to kill Alexander myself! I don't care if it's pointless! I don't care if I'm powerless! I don't care if the Celestial abandoned me! I want this! More than anyone! I'll try even if it kills me!' He pulled one leg back and planted it before he focused his spirit on that leg to push the debris up. With one leg and one hand, Jack got to his feet and held the wall up, he was now in a squatted position.
"Ha!" Jack breathed in, before pushing with all his might. "Ah!"
The light from the device blinded Jack, but he was focused solely on freeing himself. 'It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!' Jack thought as he looked at his bloodied hands, he didn't realize he was bleeding. His arms wobbled as he pushed all his weight against the wall, grunting as blood shot out of the cuts on his arms.
"Hrah!" Jack felt his spirit well up between his palms and the wall.
With one last push, Jack felt the weight leave his arms. The wall was upright once more for a moment before it fell back towards Jack. He quickly turned, grabbing the explosive off the ground with both arms, and diving out of the way. He landed on his side as the wood crashed into the floor. For some reason, Jack didn't feel any pain, surprised at his own accomplishment and speed. He looked over the sliced wall and saw Ajal and Alexander nearby. A bright light glowed off of Ajal's forehead, while green flames flowed out of Alexander's greatsword. Jack vaulted over and ran toward them with the explosive.
"Imperial Battle Arts!" Ajal chanted.
Jack spun the device around until he built up a good speed. 'This is for Carol you fucking bastard!' He gritted his teeth and let go of the explosive. It spun through the air towards Alexander, the bright green light reaching a blinding point.
"This is the end! Now die-"
Alexander turned and saw Jack briefly before squinting at the light. The device exploded in his face, shrapnel was launched chaotically in every direction. The force launched Jack off his feet, he tumbled against the grass until stopping on his back. He looked up to see a cloud of smoke over the burning dirt. But as it cleared, Alexander still stood, the explosion did nothing. 'Seriously?!' Jack struggled to move off the ground, his eyes locked on the noble. However, Ajal appeared out of thin air in front of him somehow.
"Cannon!" Ajal roared.
"Agh!" Alexander grunted.
Jack's eyes widened as he the noble was launched back. Ajal vanished just as seamlessly as he appeared, teleporting behind where Alexander would fall. His third eye glowed bright purple.
"Dark... Blast!" Ajal roared.
Like an arrow, the purple beam released at shocking speed, striking Alexander in the back. The beam bursted through his chest. Jack's head shot to the left as the beam passed by him, piercing through the houses like butter. Jack blinked in the moment of silence, before a massive explosion rippled outside of the town. The ground shook as a purple pillar of light stretched into the sky. Jack looked up at it wide eyes while he was on his back, mesmerized by the purple light dominating the area.
"Ah... Ah-" Alexander uttered, blood spilling out of his throat.
Jack flinched as he heard Alexander, he turned back to witness as the noble fall forward. The bubble of purple light dissipated, leaving a cloud of grey smoke in its wake. The area faded back to the green hue of the fire. Right before Alexander hit the ground, he glared at Jack. Ajal breathed in and out, then looked up and saw Jack, he immediately shook his head and ran forward.
"Jack- What the hell was that?" Ajal asked with a surprised tone.
Jack didn't respond, he shivered in fear. Alexander's eyes were still locked on his own, despite having a hole in his torso.
"Jac-" Alexander tried to utter but coughed up more blood and wheezed.
Alexander's eyes twitched before they finally closed. 'He's not dead...' Ajal ran over to Jack and crouched, lifting him up off his back. 'Huh... I can't move?' Ajal's eyes widened as he looked over Jack's body.
"Jack!? Jack are you okay!? You're bleeding all over!" Ajal stressed. "What the hell happened?!"
Jack looked down and saw his beige shirt, drenched in dark red stains. Chips of wood stuck into his skin, glass and metal bits of shrapnel had also pelted him. Blood leaked down his head. His back ached too much to even move the rest of his body. He shivered as he saw the state of his own body. Jack looked back at Alexander when he heard a slight wheeze come from the corpse.
"He's not dead," Jack uttered.
"Forget that right now, you're losing blood! Come on!" Ajal said as he lifted Jack under the shoulder and pulled him onto his back.
"He's still alive... Alexander... He's-"
"If he survives that, then fuck it, I guess he's immortal! You are not, you need to get these wounds patched up!" Ajal huffed. "Was that you behind the house?! I thought I sensed someone! Where the hell did you get a bomb?!"
Ajal jumped over the burning houses while he carried Jack. He descended towards the buildings and kicked off the wooden roof, he soared over the flames and descended into the farms of Logos. Jack listened to Ajal's frantic breaths, despite his usual calm demeanor, he sounded worried.
"Reinhardt and the others went southwest from here! They had bandages, they'll patch you up, don't worry!" Ajal assured.
Jack turned his head back to see the destruction. His house had been caught up in the fire now as well. He could barely keep his eyes open, his consciousness slowly faded as he looked at the town he hated so much burn. He closed his eyes as the crackle of the flames slowly faded.